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(No Model.) J A SNELL 5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

BRICK CUTTING MACHINE. No. 496,982. Patented May 9, 1893.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. A. SNBLL.

BRICK CUTTING MACHINE. No. 496,982. Patented May 9, 1893.

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(No Model.) 5 sheets-sneen s.

J. A. SNELL.

BRICK CUTTING MAGHINE. No. 496,982. Patented May 9, 1893.

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(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

J. A. SNELL. BRICK CUTTING MACHINE. No. 496,982. Patented May 9, 1893.

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(No Model.) l 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

J. A. SNELL. BRICK GUTTING MACHINE.

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WM@ FLM/M `UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB A. SNELL, OF BARRINGTON, RHODE ISLAND.

BRICK-CUTTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. LQSA-9822, dated May 9,1893.

Application led May 28, 1392. Serial No. 434.708. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB A. SNELL, a citi zen of the United States,residing at Barrington, in the county ot Bristol and State of RhodeIsland, have invented certain new and usetul Improvements inBrick-Cutting Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to beafull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to lettersof reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to brick-cutting machines, but more particularly tomachines such as are adapted to transversely sever a continuous lengthof suitably tempered and molded clay, and it consists essentially in thecombination of a stationary bed, a cutter-carrying frame adapted toaxial movement pivoted below the face of said bed and means forconveyingthe brick-blanks or u nburned-brick from the bed.

and claimed. It is well known that the molded clay after being severedtransversely into shorter lengths, each'correspondi'ng say to thethickness of the brick, is so soft and yielding that great care must beexercised in handling the blanks to preserve their integrity andsymmetry. In the case of machinemade bricks wherein a series of blanksare simultaneously severed by a movable trame carrying say a series ofline wires or cutters formed of pieces of thin flat metal placededgewise, it becomes necessary to still farther separate the blanks inorder to allow a free circulation between and around them during thedrying and baking operations.

One of the objects of my present invention is to provide a brick-cuttingmachine with means whereby the series of blanks, say one dozen, more orless, may after being cut be mechanically separated from each other in alateral direction with great rapidity and accuracy, thereby reducing thepercentage of Waste and the labor of handling to a minimum. At the sametime the production or capacity ot' the machine is greatly increased.

Another advantage resulting from. my invention is that the arrangementand action of the cutters in severing the blanks leave the edges of oneend and a contiguous side smooth, thereby materially increasing thequality of the product. Hitherto it has been usual to sever the blanksby cutters arranged and operating in such manner as to produce ragged orscarf-like edges entirely around them. Obviously such bricks are of muchless value than bricks having clear-cut and sharp corners or edges.

In the accompanying live sheets of drawings illustrating my invention,-Figure l, Sheet l, is a transverse sectional view of a brick--cuttingmachine embodying my improvements, taken on line l-l of Fig. 2, theseveral parts being in the normal position. Fig. 2 is a horizontalsectional View, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, being substantially flushwith the face of the table, dac. Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view,showing the position and relation of the cutter and follower-operatingarms, corresponding to Fig. l. Fig. 4, Sheet 2, is an end elevation.Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View, similar to Fig. l, except that thecutter-frame has been swung downwardly to sever the molded clayintobrick-blanks, the latter be ing indicated by broken lines andresting edgewise upon the stationary bed. Fig. 6 is a partial sectionalview, showing the corresponding position of the cutter and .followeroperating arms or levers. Fig. 7, Sheet 3, is a transverse sectionalView similar to Fig. 5, showing the cutter-frame depressed to its limit,the action of which forces the initial follower rearwardly and placesthe blanks upon the separable table. Fig. 8 is a sectional View, showingthe follower returned to its normal position, as in Fig. 5, but havingthe auxiliary or secondary followerin position against the rear ends ofthe blanks, the separable table meanwhile having been extended to stillfarther separate the blanks. Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing theposition of the levers, corresponding to Fig. 7. Fig. 10, Sheet 4, is asectional view similar to Fig. 8, but showing the auxiliary follower inits extreme position, it having forced the severed blanks onto theremovable drying board, placed in position to receive them. Fig. 11 is aplan view showing the developed surface of the camwheel which operatesto open and close the separable table. Fig. 12 is a partial sectionalView, taken on line 12-12 of Fig. 2. Fig. 13 is a transverse sectionalview, taken on line 13-13 of Fig. 12. Fig. 14, Sheet 5,is a horizontalsectional plan view, with the stationary and movable tables removed; therelation of the parts being substantially as represented in Figs. 1 and2, and Figl is a rear side elevation, in partial section, taken on line15-15 of Fig. 1.

The machine, again referring to the drawings, is provided with the twovertical end frames A, A, suitably tied together and arranged to receiveand support the various parts and mechanisms about to be described. Thefront side of the machine is provided with a stationary top bed a:consisting of a sethe front to the rear of the machine.

ries of longitudinally slotted plates through which extends downwardly acorresponding series of knees or arms o secured to a movable frame M,the latter being mounted to slide on fixed guide rods w extending fromThe slotted plates are separated from each other transversely a shortdistance p2 to permit the cutters p to work :freely therein. To eachknee 0 is secured a short vertical plate or follower n; the series offollowers are inV alignment and are arranged to work in unison. Themovement of the followers is effected by means of a pin or roll T,mounted at each end of the frame M, working in slots b2 formed in theupper end of the two levers B, pivoted at F; the levers B being actuatedby suitable mechanism hereinafter described.

Near the rear end of the plates and con-` tiguous to the under sidethereof, is mounted a rock-shaft or rod D, the same extendinglongitudinally of the machine and projecting through the end framesA. Tothese proj ectin g portions is secured thecutter-carryin g frame a (seeFigs. l1, 15, dac). This frame is provided with two slotted top ties,the lower one, a2, being adapted to receive the series of clampbolts c,the other tie having a series of screw hooks f passing through it. Asdrawn, the cutters p are simply a series of uniformly spaced tine steelwires, the lower ends being wound around the shaft D and secured to pinsP. The upper portions of the cutters are adjustably clamped to the tiea2 by means of the bolts c and th umb-nuts h, thereby firmly holding thecutters in place. The ends of the wires p are in engagement with thehooks f; the nuls g being employed to regulate the tension. New uponvibrating the frame ain the arrow-direction,Fig. l,to the position shownin v5the several cutters p will be forced downwardly through the moldedclay or material resting upon the bed er thereby completely separatingthe clay into brick-blanks, b4, each having a thickness equal lto thedistance between two adjacent cutters. The small amount of wastematerial produced is carried through the bed by the cutters and fallsbeneath. After the clay has been severed into blanks, as j ustdescribed, the latter are simultaneously forced ahead from the bed x, i.e. toward the rear side of the machine, by the action of the followers nuntil the blanks rest upon the separable table y. See Fig. 7.

The mechanism for effecting the movement of the blanks is asfollowsz-Referring to Fig. 14, it will be seen that a clutch-collar D issecured to each end of the shaft or axle D, contiguous to the frames A.Each collar lis provided with a lug t' arranged to engage acorresponding lug j of the lever k. These twoY levers la are looselymounted upon the shaft D and each is further provided at its front orfree end with a slot k2 in which a pin or roll R works; the latter beingfixed to the side of the adjacent lever B, before referred to. Therelative arrangement of the levers, the., is clearly shown in Figs. 1and 8. When in the position indicated by said ligure-s the clay isresting upon the bed a: preparatory to being severed into blanks by theaction of the cutters p. Now, upon swinging the cutterframe downwardlyninety degrees or to the position shown in Fig. 5, thereby at the sametime forcing the series of cutters through the clay, the lugs c' will becorrespondingly vibrated and brought into engagement with the lugs j,see Fig. 6. The act of depressing the cutter-frame to its limit from ahorizontal position will cause the collar-lugst' to force the looselymounted levers k rearwardly, thereby carrying with them the levers B andthe connected follower-table M; the result being to force the severalbrick-blanks from the bed onto the expansible table y, preparatory tobeing further separated; the relation of the parts then being asrepresented in Figs. '7 and 9.

To the left side of the machine is located an operating lever G, thesame being fixed to the outer end of the shaft E. This shaft extendsacross the lower portion of the machine and is mounted in and projectsbeyond the side frames A, see Figs. 4,15, &c. To the shaft are alsosecured outer arms Z,Z, each having alink c jointed thereto at its upperend through which in turn is journaled a rod d carrying a looselymounted pusher-plate b. The said rod extends across the machine and isin immediate contact with the inner or concave face of the two upwardlyextending fixed bent arms m, the plate b filling the space between themupon the shaft.

Located upon and about midway of the shaft E is secured a wheel or drumC having right and left cam-shaped grooves q formed in its periphery,see Fig. 11, &c. This figure represents the developed surfaceof thecamwheel. It will be seen that the grooves ex- IOO ' blanks, the spacesbetween them being say tend about half-Way around the wheel. The camproper, q', that is the divergent portion, forms about one-third of thegrooves length from which point they continue parallel with each other.

u, u, indicate two oppositely arranged bent rods or connections havingtheir adjacent ends adapted to work in the said cam-grooves; these rodsare guided in and extend upwardly through a fixed bar o and are securedto the y.

outer ends of a lazy-tongs connection r, see Figs. 2, 14, and 15. Toeach central joint of said connection is attached a plate y of theextensible table; these connected plates are adapted to receive theseries of brickblanks as they are forced thereon by the ac` tion of thepusher-plates n. The end portions of the plates y are provided on theunder side with ears t through which the combined supporting and guiderods t extend. These rods are parallel and are secured to the frames A.From this it is obvious that upon rotating the cam-wheel in thearrow-direction the two guided connections u u will become separatedthereby at the same time expanding or elongating the table y andseparating the plates forming it, the latter freely sliding upon therods t.

While the operating lever Gis being vibrated rearwardly from its normalposition, the first part of its movement (say one-third of its maximumtravel) will impart a corresponding movement to the cam-wheel therebyexpanding the table y to its limit and at the same time depressing thepusher b, through the medium of the parts Z, e and m, from its normalposition (Fig. 7) until it rests upon the bed x, its position then beingat the rear of the series of blanks b4, (Fig. 8.) I would state that thefollowers n must be returned to their normal position before the pushercan be used, or as indicated in said Fig. 8. At this point in theoperation the lazy-tongs connection will be extended to its limit byreason of the rotation of the cam, the lower ends of the connectionsuthen being at the terminals of the divergent grooves q', and resultingin the lateral separation of the one-half an inch. The further andcompleted movement of the lever G and its connections will operate toadvance the pusher across the table y thereby carrying with it theseveral brick-blanks and depositing them upon the removable drying-boards placed in position to receive them, as clearly shown in Fig. lO.During the movement last described the several plates y remainpractically immovable in a lateral direction by reason of theconnections u working in the parallel portions of t-he cam-groove q. Areverse movement of the lever G quickly returns the several connectedparts to the normal position shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The series of slotted plates forming the bed are removably secured tothe front tie H of scribed. lvided with rolls z, the same extending butthe machine and to a slotted lower tie or brace K located at the rearofthe shaft D. Said brace is secured to the ends A; its under sideforming a guide for the upper rear end of themovablefollower-carryingframe M. Asdrawn this frame is composed of aseries of pieces, each loosely mounted on a guide-rod w; the pieces whenthus arranged form narrow openings p4 between them, see Fig. 14. At thefront end they are each secured to a bottom strip l carrying end pins Tadapted to Work in the lever-slots b2 before described. The front tie H,above referred to, is provided with a series of deep transverse groovesor notches I arranged to freely receive the cutters p (Fig. 14). It alsoserves as a stop for the latter when the. cutter-frame ct is in itslowest position, see Fig. 7. These grooves are coincident with thespaces 192, p4, before de- The'face of the bed a: may be proslightlyabove its surface. These are to assist in conductingasuitable length ofmolded clay into position upon the bed. They are further employed tolubricate the clay to prevent it from sticking to the bed, &c. For thispurpose the rolls run in small pans or chambers z2 formed in the bedwhich are kept filled with oil, see Figs. l2, 13.

From the foregoing detailed description of the several parts of myimproved brick-cutting machine it is clearly evident that upon feeding alength of suitably molded unburned clay endwise from the right ofthemachine into position upon the bed (Fig-1), assisted by the lubricatingrolls c', and swinging the cutter-frame a downwardly (about ninetydegrees) from its normal position to that indicated in Fig. 5, theseveral wires or cutters will be forced through the clay and into thecorresponding spaces p2 formed in the bed and follower, therebycompletely dividing the clay into a series of brick-blanks b4; theaction of the cutters at the same time producing a smooth cut along theedges of one side and end of each blank; the corresponding relation ofthe clutch-lugs being shown in Fig. 6. The operator continues thedownward movement of the cutter-frame until it is arrested by the fronttie lvl, see Fig. 7. The re-l sult of the latter movement is to causethe lugs t' to engage those (j) of the levers lc thereby carrying thelatter in the arrow-direction (Fig. 5), and thus causing the levers B toadvance correspondingly. The last-named levers, through the medium oftheslots b2, and pins T working therein, operate to quickly force thefollower-carrying frame M toward the rear side of the machine to itslimit, thereby sliding the several blanks h4 from the bed fr onto theexpansible table y, see Fig. 7. A reversal of the movements returns-thefollower, cutters, 85o., to their normal position. Now, the operatornext seizes the lever G located at the left side of the machine `andswings it rearwardly, say about sixty degrees more or IIO IZO

less, thus causing the cam-wheel O to simultaneously separate theblank-carrying plates forming the table y to their limit; said levermovement at the same time, through the medium of the levers Z, e, &c.,depresses the auxiliary follower or pusher-plate b until it rests uponthe bed m and just at the rear of the blanks; the corresponding relationof the parts being represented in Fig. 8. The operating lever G is nextfurther rotated, thereby advancing the pusher into engagement with theseries of blanks and forcing them from the expanded table onto aremovable dryingboard s previously placed in position at the rear ordelivering side of the machine to receive them, see Fig. 10. A reversalof the levers (G) movement returns the pusher-plate to the bed andthence upwardly along the guide-arms m to its normal position; theaction of the cam-grooves q operating at the same time to contract thetable y.

The subsequent operations of handling the loaded boards s and drying theblanks, as well as the nal operation of burning or baking the bricks insuitable ovens or furnaces, are all substantially as common to theprocess of brick-making.

My improved brick-cutting machine can be readily adapted to cut themolded clay into forms other than the usual rectangular brick, by firstchanging the position and arrangement of the cutters p, the bed 0c andthe table y. In some cases it may be employed to form a single largebrick, in lieu of a series of smaller ones, by the action of thecutter-frame, &c., in which event the connections a, u, should bedisconnected fromthe cam, thereby rendering the table y immovable.

Owing to the manner of mounting and operating the cutters p the blanksare kept in substantially one and the same horizontal plane throughoutthe operations of severing the clay and placing them upon the dryingboards, thereby saving handling and the resulting percentage of waste.Moreover, the bricks produced upon my improved machine have each atleast two sides or faces whose edges are smooth, thereby Well adaptingthem to be used as front or face bricks.

My machine is distinguished from others of its class from the fact thatthe column of clay is not, as hitherto, fed continuously nor do thecutters sever it into blanks, one by one, which latter are automaticallyconveyed and discharged in tho same plane and in the same direction asthat of the advancing bar ofclay. In my present brick-making machine thetempered and molded column of clay is rst deposited upon the bed at thefront side of the machine; the clay is next severed or dividedsimultaneously into a series of blanks; the latter are then forcedendwise (or at right angles to the direction of the length of clay) fromthe bed rearwardly onto an expansible table; while resting thereon thetable is elongated, thereby farther separating the blanks and increasingthe space between them, after which through the medium of an operatingpusher-plate they are discharged simultaneously from the table onto aremovable drying board located at the rear side of the machine.

I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent 1.In a brick-cutting machine, the combination with the slotted stationarycutting bed and a series of mounted cutters arranged to pass into saidslots, of an extensible table composed of a series of connected sectionsonto which a number of brick blanks are simultaneously delivered, meansfor opening and closing said table, and a pusher or discharging platearranged to force the series of blanks from the table, substantially asdescribed.

2. In abrick-cutting machine,thecombina tion with a slotted bed and aseries of cutters mounted in an axially movable frame pivoted below saidbed, of a guided transversely separated follower, as n, and means foroperating the same, a table adapted to receive the blanks from said bedand a vertically movable pusher or secondary follower arranged tovengage the rearend of the blanks and force them onto aremovable boardor conveyer, substantially as described.

3. In a brick-cutting machine, the combination with a stationary bed, apivotally mounted frame carrying a series of cuttersadapted for cuttingor severing the molded clay into bricks and a follower arranged to forcethem from said bed, in the same plane with but at substantially rightangles to the direction of the length of clay, of an extensible tableadapted to receive the bricks from the bed, mechanism for elongatingsaid table, for the purpose of still farther separating the bricks fromeach other, and means for removing them from the machine.

4. In a brick-cutting machine, the combination with a stationary bed anda suitably mounted extensible table adapted to receive a series ofbrick-blanks, of mechanism arranged to lirst open or separate the tableand a movable pusher-plate adapted to force the blanks from the tableafter the latter has ceased moving.

5. In a brick-cutting machine, a slotted stationary bed, as anexpansible table and a removable drying-board, having their upper orworking faces level or in a common plane, in combination with an axiallymovable frame carrying aseries of adjustably mounted cutting-wires forsevering a length of molded clay into blanks and forcing them onto saiddrying-board, substantially as described.

6. In a brick-cutting machine, provided with an axially movablecuttercarrying frame, a follower mounted and arranged to reciprocateback and forth by means of levers, &c, actuated and controlled by themovement of the said cutter-carrying frame, substantially as described.

7. The combination, in a brick-cutting machine, with the series ofconnected plates arblanks from the table after its expansion has rangedto form an expansible table and means been effected, substantially asset forth. i Io for actuating the same, of a movable frame In testimonywhereof I have affixed my sigcarrying a series of cutting-wires arrangedto nature in presence of two witnesses.

divide the prepared clay into blanks, an ii- JACOB A. SNELL. tialfollower adapted to force the blanks onto Witnesses:

said table before the latter is expanded and a GEO. H. REMINGTON,

secondary follower arranged to discharge the IDA M. WARREN.

